Sherwood Christian girls soccer team cruises

ALBANY — Kylee Harrod scored a hat trick and Kaitlyn Cuff added two goals as the Sherwood Christian girls soccer team defeated Killian Hill Christian 5-1 in the Eagle Invitational at Sherwood Christian Academy Friday night.

In spite of the scoring margin, Sherwood coach Jeremy Davidson was extremely complimentary of the Lady Cougars.

“I would say that was probably the best team we’ve played so far this year,” Davidson said. “They’ve worked hard, they were strong. They played the ball around a bit. The field conditions were less than ideal. I was super proud of my girls. They came out ready to play. They were focused. They knocked the ball around well. They played with a lot of heart. The timing of the runs up top was just perfect. They got in behind the defense over and over again in the first half.”

The Lady Eagles scored their first goal within five minutes of the match as Cuff took a shot just outside the box which beating the Killian Hill keeper to put SCA up 1-0.

Cuff scored her second goal a few minutes later on an assist by Harrod and SCA was up 2-0 early in the first half. The onslaught continued as Harrod scored her first goal off an assist by Jordan Paramore to increase the Lady Eagles’ lead to 3-0. A few minutes before the first half, Harrod scored her second goal of the match off an assist by Cuff to give SCA a 4-0 by the half.

The Lady Eagles picked up where they left off in the second half as Harrod scored her third goal of the match, giving Sherwood a 5-0 cushion.

Throughout the whole match, SCA dominated possession and limited the Lady Cougars with very few chances. “They’r3e a great side and e didn’t have an answer for number 7 (Kylee Harrod) early on,” Killian Hill Head Coach Paul Williams said. “Her speed and her ability to finish really hurt us.”

One of those few chances came midway through the second half when Sherwood’s Molly Kate McClearn was whistled for a foul in the box and Killian Hill was awarded a penalty kick. However, Rachel Francis’ penalty shot was saved by SCA goalkeeper Hannah Thompson.

Francis scored a few minutes later, however, to put the Lady Cougars on the board.

However, the game was stopped prematurely when Killian Hill’s Victoria Shilkov collided with Thompson and broke her leg.

Sherwood Christian remains undefeated on the season.

“We played really hard and we had really good competition to play against,” Harrod said. “We just put our minds to it and went at it.”

SHERWOOD BOYS 2, GEORGIA CHRISTIAN 1: The SCA Eagles were in a physical match with Georgia Christian, but were able to come from behind to win.

“I was proud of the boys,” Davidson said. “They went down 1-0. I thought they had the run of play early. Several kids on that team (Georgia Christian) impressed me and they worry me when I play against them. Tonight they came through. They won the ball on a free kick and a corner. I was really proud of the effort as a whole tonight.”

Georgia Christian got on the board first when Sang Hoo scored in the first half to give the Generals a 1-0 lead. The Eagles got the equalizer midway through the second half when, on a direct kick, Odowe Koffie served the ball into the box to a waiting Dillon Evans who headed the ball into the net, tying the game at 1-1.

“We’ve been working hard on finishing set pieces, and tonight they came through,” Davidson said.

A few minutes later, Seth King scored to give SCA the lead at 2-1. The Eagles continued to put pressure on Georgia Christian’s back line, creating more chances in the second half. The Eagles back line was up to the challenge.

Sherwood Christian is now 3-1-2 on the season.